


Uppercut

by chanyeolk



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Angst, Fluff, M/M, fighter!chanyeol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-27
Updated: 2016-04-27
Packaged: 2018-06-04 22:34:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6677995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chanyeolk/pseuds/chanyeolk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chanyeol is a fighter, Jongdae is supposed to be his manager, and boyfriend Baekhyun has to fill in.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Uppercut

“ _Listen_ ,” Baekhyun starts. Every syllable is enunciated to make sure the other boy hears him very clearly. He’s panicking. He really is. “Before you say _anything_ , I am very aware that these Band-Aids are Disney princesses. I promise you I am. Please- for the love of God- Don’t pick on me for it. They were on _sale._ I swear.”

Chanyeol is just trying to concentrate on anything other than the blood dribbling down his cheek and the stinging sensation rising from his busted knuckles. Unfortunately, Baekhyun’s long ramblings are what he gets caught up in instead. “I don’t care about the Band-Aids, Baek.”

With delicate and trembling fingers, Baekhyun adorns Chanyeol’s cheek with a Cinderella bandage coated in a thin layer of antibiotic ointment. He winces in place of the latter boy, who is just sitting on the locker room staring at the backs of his hands. “He hit you really hard, yeah? Are you feeling okay?”

“I’m fine. It’s nothing I’m not used to. Thank you for helping me. I’m sorry.”

There’s an exasperated sigh. Baekhyun takes Chanyeol’s hands in his, lifting them up to his face so he can assess the damage in better lighting. He’s making a very concentrated face, eyebrows pulled together and lips contorted into a pout. It’s easily passable for adorable. “Are you able wash your hands for me?”

There are little dots of blood littering Chanyeol’s chest and neck, and he’s not sure if they’re from the other guy or from a good jab at his nose earlier, but he makes sure to wipe them off when he’s washing his hands. Baekhyun really shouldn’t have been here, but he watched the whole match from start to finish, never leaving Chanyeol’s corner of the ring. He was the last person that should have to clean up Chanyeol after a fight. “Where’s Jongdae?”

“What do you _mean_ ‘where’s Jongdae?’ We were just talking about it like five minutes ago. Did they hit you that hard?!” Baekhyun scrambles for ice packs and bandages and- Chanyeol pulls Baekhyun’s face between his hands, squishing his cheeks in on accident. Deep breaths are exchanged between quiet utterings of _calm down, I’m okay_ until Chanyeol deems it safe to let the small not-really-a-nurse go.

“I’m not qualified for this in the slightest. He didn’t even give me the real medical kit! I had to take the one from my car,” Baekhyun starts again. He’s rinsing blood out of a towel that had been wrapped around the fighter’s neck, knuckles turning ghostly as he wrings pinkish water out of the white fabric. Turning back to Chanyeol, he looks like he’s about to faint. “Jesus Christ, your eye is really swollen. How do I even fix that?”

Chanyeol looks in the mirror and pokes at it, only making Baekhyun queasier. His eye is practically swollen shut. “Jongdae normally cuts it and lets it bleed until the swelling goes down.”

That’s when Baekhyun really loses it. He looks like he might cry, “I can’t do this! How are you so calm about it? He cuts your _eye_?! You say this like it’s something you do all the fucking time! Is this how you always look after a fight?!”

Chanyeol can only shrug because, in reality, he can no longer count on just his fingers how many times Jongdae has had to make the small incisions under his eyebrow or on his lip. “I can do it, I guess.”

“With what!?” Baekhyun screeches. He is horribly pale. Dumping out his first aid kid, he dramatically gestures to the contents laying in front of him. “Be my guest, Chanyeol! Maybe you can use this oversized popsicle stick to cut up your face even more!”

The fighter cracks a smile at this, which only makes the smaller boy even more frustrated. Baekhyun thinks to all the times that Chanyeol has come home with only a few scrapes and bruises and can’t help but worry that he had originally looked like he does now- before Jongdae patched him up, that is. Sighs turn into panicked breathing, leading to him grabbing at his hair and pulling it mercilessly.

“Baekhyun, please-“

“Don’t.”

“No, seriously!” Chanyeol shouts. “You’re getting worked up about nothing!”

“Am I?” His voice cracks.

The silence that ensues is nearing the borders of tortuous.

“I just don’t like to see you hurt,” he whispers.

Chanyeol pulls his boyfriend in close and kisses the top of his head. “I know.”

 Baekhyun looks up at him for a moment, the most pitiful look in his eyes, before looking back down and resting his head against Chanyeol’s bare chest again. “I’m never doing this again after today,” he whines between sniffles. Chanyeol feels like an asshole because he knows Baekhyun is probably crying, but knows better than to tell him to stop right now. “You look ugly all beat up like this.”

“Thanks,” Chanyeol chuckles, smiling down at the small boy who is trying to hold himself together for him. He wants to be offended by the remark; however, all he can think about is the fact that Baekhyun must really love him if this hurts him to see so much.

“Jongdae gets paid to see your ugly face, Chanyeol. I don’t.”

“I think I have four dollars in my wallet, if that will make it better.”

Baekhyun thinks for a moment, “Not worth it.”

They work together to rinse the blood from Chanyeol’s body and patch up his wounds. It’s really not too bad under the blood, but this doesn’t stop Baekhyun from making little whines every time Chanyeol winces. He’ll be very bruised the next day, splotches of black and blue and purple already swelling up around his sides, shins, and back. Baekhyun pokes at them to mess with Chanyeol, but ends up crying again when the fighter lets out a small yelp from the pain. Jongdae arrives and pushes Baekhyun out of the locker room while he fixes up Chanyeol’s eye, and Baekhyun stands outside the door impatiently chewing at his nails. When he’s allowed to go back in, Chanyeol's face looks significantly better than before.

“Do your job from now on!” he yells at the manager, throwing his little first aid kit at him. “I can’t do this.”

Jongdae only pats his back and tells him he did a good job for someone with literally no experience whatsoever, giving him a cheeky grin and a thumbs up on the side.

Baekhyun hates him right now.

Chanyeol pulls a white t-shirt on slowly while Baekhyun watches the bruised muscles of his back contort with the motion. He frowns, but quickly tries to perk back up. There’s been enough crying and whining about his boyfriend’s profession for one night. And no matter how much he hates what it does to him, he could never ask Chanyeol to stop. Chanyeol loves it too much, maybe even more than him.

“Congrats on winning, Chanyeol,” Baekhyun says, smiling up at him when Chanyeol wraps an arm around his small shoulders on the way out of the locker room.

“Thanks!” he cheers, smile so bright that Baekhyun is forced to smile too. The smile softens and Chanyeol stares at Baekhyun with an affection that leaves him somewhat uncomfortable in his own skin. “Thanks for being here tonight. I don’t think I would have won if you weren’t here.”

“Oh, whatever.” Baekhyun lightly throws a fist towards Chanyeol’s ribs. “Now you’re gonna have to fight me!”

Chanyeol laughs loudly, “I’m not sure I could take you. You’re too tough for me.”

Baekhyun’s eyes are still teary and his face is blotchy from crying. He has a little bit of Chanyeol’s blood on his shirt and his box of Disney Princess Band-Aids in his hand, but this doesn’t stop him from grinning up at his tall, bruised boyfriend and letting out a smug, “Damn right!”

 

 


End file.
